1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a washing machine, and more particularly, to a gasket and drum type washing machine using the same, which prevents a laundry from being stuck in a laundry opening part.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Generally, a washing machine holds water and detergent in a lower part of a tub. After laundry is put in a drum installed inside the tub, the drum is rotated to perform washing, rinsing, and dewatering.
Such a washing machine is an apparatus for eliminating dirt or filth attached to the laundry by applying a mechanical force thereto together with a detergent.
Specifically, a drum type washing machine is an apparatus for eliminating dirt or filth attached to the laundry by putting the laundry, water, and detergent in a drum horizontally installed to rotate by a driving force of a motor. The drum type washing machine barely has entanglement and damage of the laundry, consumes less water, and even has washing effects of beating and rubbing.
Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a general drum type washing machine consists of a cabinet 10 forming an exterior to have a first opening 11 at a front side to put in/out a laundry, a door 12 installed in front of the cabinet 10 to open/close the first opening 11, a tub 20 provided inside the cabinet 10 to have a second opening 21 communicating with the first opening 11, and a drum 50 rotatably installed inside the tub 20 to have a third opening 50a communicating with the first opening 11.
In this case, the first to third openings 11, 21, and 50a construct an opening part through which the laundry is put in/out.
The drum 50 includes lifters 25 on its inside to pull the laundry up to a predetermined height. Once the drum 50 rotates, the laundry is lifted up to an upper part of the drum 50 by the lifters 25 and then falls down for washing.
A rotational means for rotating the drum is provided in a space between an inside of the cabinet 10 and the tub 20.
The rotational means consists of a motor 40 provided under the tub 20 to be electrically driven, a first rotational shaft 41 extending in a rear direction of the cabinet 10 to have one end connected to the motor 40, a driving pulley 42 provided at the other end of the first rotational shaft 41, a second rotational shaft 43 having one end connected to a rear side of the drum 50, a driven pulley 44 provided at the other end of the second rotational shaft 43, and a belt 45 connecting the driving and driven pulleys 42 and 44.
A rotational force of the motor 40 enabling forward and reverse rotations is transferred to the drum 50 via the two rotational shafts, driving pulley, belt, and driven pulley.
Meanwhile, a water supply hose 16, a water supply valve (not shown in the drawing), and a detergent box 17 for supplying water and detergent to the tub 20 are installed in an upper side of the cabinet 10. And, a drain pump 18 and a drain hose 19 for circulating or draining the water are installed under the tub 20.
A control panel 15 provided as a control means for controlling an operation of the drum type washing machine is installed on an upper front side of the cabinet 10.
Moreover, a gasket 50 is provided between the first and second openings 11 and 21 to buffer shocks generated from forward and reverse vibrations of the drum and to prevent leakage of the water when the drum is rotating with the door closed.
Referring to FIG. 3, the gasket 50 consists of a front end coupling part 51 enclosing the first opening 11 to be coupled with the first opening, a rear end coupling part 52 enclosing the second opening 21 to be coupled with the second opening 21, and a middle connecting part 53 of a flexible material connecting the front and rear end coupling parts 51 and 52.
The middle connecting part 53 consists of a first connecting member 53a having one end connected to the front end coupling part 51 to horizontally extend toward the tub, a second connecting member 53b having one end connected to the other end of the first connecting member 53a to radially extend toward the front side of the cabinet, and a third connecting member 53c having one end connected to the other end of the second connecting member 53b and having the other end connected to the rear end coupling part 52.
Thus, the middle connecting part 53 is bent to prevent shocks from appearing on the cabinet due to vibrations of the drum and tub when the washing machine is operating.
In this case, the first to third connecting members are formed uniform in thickness.
And, a ring type protrusion 54 protrudes from an inner circumference of the middle connecting part 53 to block a predetermined portion of a gap between the second and third openings 21 and 50a, thereby preventing the laundry from being stuck between the second and third openings 21 and 31.
However, in the general drum type washing machine, the above-constructed gasket becomes deformed if the washing machine holding quite amount of the laundry is left alone for a considerably long time or if the washing machine operates for a considerably long time.
Moreover, the vibrations of the tub and drum may result in the deformation of the gasket.
To overcome such a problem, a gasket and drum type washing machine using the same are needed to prevent deformation of the gasket even if the washing machine holding a massive amount of the laundry is left alone or used for a considerably long time.